Kats return home, welcome NSU for three games
3/17/2016 6:33:00 PM | Baseball
After matching a season-high seven-game road trip, the Sam Houston baseball team returns home for a pivotal early-season Southland Conference series, welcoming Northwestern State for a three-game set beginning Friday at 6:30 p.m.
The teams return Saturday for a 3 p.m. first pitch while the Sunday finale is scheduled for 1 o'clock. Tickets are available by calling (936) 294-1729 or visiting GoBearkats.com. During its first seven home games, the Kats have welcomed 1,100-plus fans each outing.
“The front part of our schedule was really loaded and very unforgiving,” second-year head coach Matt Deggs said. “There was some big travel in there, so it's good for us to get our legs back underneath us and catch up on school work as well as get re-focused heading into a really good Northwestern State ballclub.”
The Bearkats (6-11 overall, 1-2 SLC) look to bounce back after dropping two-of-three in the league opener at New Orleans a weekend ago. Despite the series loss, Sam Houston's weekend rotation of junior Sam Odom, junior Heath Donica and freshman Riley Gossett posted a 2.86 ERA in 22 innings.
“It's outstanding what those guys have been doing every single weekend,” second baseman Lance Miles said. “It really sets the tone for the rest of us. Just knowing we have that, it makes our job so much easier. It all starts with Sam but Heath has done a great job on Saturday and Gossett is playing his butt off.”
Meanwhile, the Demons (8-8, 2-1 SLC) won their league-opening series against Lamar before falling 10-1 to No. 16 Louisiana on Wednesday night. Like the Kats weekend starters, Northwestern State's rotation has gotten the job done, led by Friday night pitcher Adam Oller (2-0, 0.67 ERA).
“They are really well coached,” Deggs said. “Lane Burroughs and his staff do a great job. They've got some veterans on their ballclub along with one of the top three arms in the league in Oller. It boils down to us being great at what we can control and that's pounding the strike zone, making routine plays and executing our offense. If we can do those things, it will be a really good series.”
NSU was selected to finish second by the league's head coaches, followed by Sam Houston in third. Unlike the Bearkats, who welcome 29 newcomers including 19 freshmen, the Demons returned several key pieces to the tune of 17 lettermen.
“I'm not going to lie, I have no idea where people picked Northwestern State or us to finish, but I know we expect to win every time out,” Miles said. “That's the type of guys we are. We play with a chip on our shoulder. Our preparation doesn't change. We put the work in to make sure we're the best prepared.”
Against New Orleans, Sam Houston junior catcher Robie Rojas, who has developed a reputation for shutting down runners on the base path, heated up offensively. Rojas went 4-for-11 (.364) against the Privateers while belting a pair of home runs to finish with four RBIs.
The reliable backstop will have his hands full defensively against a Northwestern State team that ranks second in the league in stolen bases with 31 and has only been caught seven times. The Demons also rank first in the league with 21 double plays turned.
“Robie has done a great job in shutting down the opponents running game,” Deggs said. “We need to get the hitter. The running game is predicated on taking your focus off the hitter and onto the runner. We need to give Robie a chance. We can't compound a base runner with two or three more.”
Equally aggressive on the base path has been Sam Houston center fielder Bryce Johnson. The sophomore leads the league in stolen base percentage (7-of-8/87.5 percent) and is 15th in batting average (.365). His left-field counterpart, Zach Smith, ranks first in doubles (7), fourth in slugging percentage (.610) and eighth in batting average (.390).
A season ago against the Demons, Johnson went 7-for-12 in the combined four games, scoring three runs, while Smith finished 4-for-11 adding a run. Odom (1-0, 4.30 ERA), who will make the Friday start against NSU, picked up a win in relief against the Demons in 2014, allowing just two hits and one unearned run in 5 1-3 innings.
“Bryce is a really special player,” Deggs said. “He's a guy that can change a game offensively and defensively. Smitty is a guy that has put the work in. He is a self-made player that has learned to hit at a high-level. He's been a huge presence for us in the three or four hole.”
The two programs have met 117 times previously with Sam Houston holding a 61-56 edge and 29-20 advantage at home. A season ago, the squads split four games, with NSU taking two of three in Natchitoches, La., and the Kats claiming a midweek game at Don Sanders Stadium.
Saturday's matchup will feature Heath Donica (1-2, 4.56 ERA) against the Demons Chase Hymel (1-2, 3.80 ERA). On Sunday, the Kats will throw Gossett (2-0, 2.08 ERA) while the Demons have not yet announced their starter.
“We say there is 30 (conference games), but every game counts and not only that, every game is a dogfight,” Miles said. “Coming into this weekend, we're looking to get a sweep and I don't think we'll settle for anything else other than a sweep.”
